please God, not people.

God created us each with our own unique gifts, yet the world wants us to be who we are not. Satan wants us to ignore who we were made to be or use our God-given talents to bring attention to ourselves and forget to acknowledge the One who gave us those gifts. That’s just the world we live in. A world where everyone is wearing a mask of who they want to be perceived as not who they really are. A world where if you’re not pretending, you’re not significant.

Something I struggled with in my early years of writing was creating content that reflected who I was in my heart. Sharing words and thoughts that reflect who I live for. We live in a society where any mention of God is an immediate excuse for the nearest exit. All the new “popular” books aren’t written by Christian authors or mention the name of Jesus. When outlining my novel for the first time, I was unsure how to write something that anyone could pick up and enjoy. I wanted so badly for my writing to be liked by whoever it crossed paths with. I wanted to please people. It was only when I tried to start writing my book that I knew it would be impossible not to incorporate my faith. How could I write a story with internal conflict and character arcs and resolution without any real hope, faith, trust, or actual valuable lessons? My characters had no depth, and their internal conflict and desires were simply driven by their worldly ambitions. Their happy ending wasn’t truly happy. Their hope wasn’t really hope. Their faith wasn’t really faith at all.

“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not intending to please people, but to please God, who examines our hearts.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4 

Sometimes it’s hard as a believer to do what pleases God and not people. We want fame and recognition, and this applies to absolutely all areas of our lives. Yet the thing I come back to time and time again is this: I don’t want people to see me and my accomplishments in what I do, I want them to see Him. Through my writing and with everything else I do in life, I think my greatest accomplishment would be that God would use what I do as an arrow toward Him. And there’s so much satisfaction and joy in simply that. Something even the most popular and wealthy people will never get to enjoy. They will always be in this constant state of fighting for the top.

Dear reader, I encourage you to keep doing whatever it is God has called you to do but with the mindset of pleasing Him, rather than the world. It’s not easy, but you eventually find that’s the best part. It’s not easy, it’s not looked at as normal or popular or the “right way” to success—but that’s exactly how it should be when you have a Kingdom mindset.

Please God, not people. I promise you will find yourself living a much more joy-filled and truly rich life just by living out that 4 word, life-changing yet challenging reminder.

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Let’s talk! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

SHINE ON, 

BROOKLYN 

a look in the rear view mirror

As the years pass by and time ticks on, God’s orchestration of every aspect of our lives becomes more evident. As time passes it reveals things about our lives we didn’t notice before; in the moment. It takes presence to notice absence, darkness to appreciate light and time to recognize change. It’s like reading a book and not realizing the seemingly unimportant details at the beginning are actually very significant at the end. Each chapter has a purpose, and each event plays a role. As a writer, I’ve learned that nothing an author writes should be insignificant or hold the story back from progressing. And that’s exactly how God, the greatest author and Creator of all life, writes. Nothing happens just to meet the word count or produce more pages—it all serves a purpose.

The notion of time is something that is constantly discussed, whether in the context of fear, worry, uncertainty, or excitement and savoring every moment. People say it’s not fun getting old; enjoy your childhood and don’t rush the time you’ve been given. Enjoy each year as they come and go, and make the most of your present age. Be patient, and enjoy the “now” rather than the “not yet.” I believe that to be true and something to never take for granted, but I also have seen that as time goes on, it offers something very special: the ability to look in the rear view mirror of life and see the ways the Lord was working. To be amazed and grateful, and see that your past uncertainty was really a beauty in the making. Over time, your disappointment, rejection, and uncertainty turned into your satisfaction, acceptance, and confidence.

Recently, the view I have through the rear view mirror of my life has revealed to me many ways the Lord has worked. I’ve noticed how He places everything I need in my life at exactly the right time, opening doors, creating opportunities and providing perfect placement not even I considered or thought possible. But with God, truly anything is possible; “anything” meaning even the things my mind could never come up with, understand, plan out or put into action.

Taking time to look in the rear view mirror not only lets you see how the Lord has worked things out, but it’s realizing there’s so much more you don’t realize, and probably will never know. And that’s just one more beautiful thing about God: even when you can’t see everything He’s done, you still know He’s working. And as time carries on and the hours turn into days and the days into weeks and the weeks stretch into months, we get to look back and marvel at how all along our “mess” of a situation was actually perfectly aligned with the plans God had for you, all along.

This summer has been one of new beginnings and accomplishments I thought might never happen. It’s only because of Christ that I sit here now, reflecting on the past weeks, months and years and rejoice in seeing how the Lord has provided, time and time again. He’s placed exactly who and what I need in my life, at exactly the right time.

In July, I had set ambitious goals to finish editing my book and send it to beta readers by the month’s end. The writing camp I am a part of runs during that month, and the Lord provided me with a job that gave me flexibility to be a part of that camp and accomplish that goal (my book is being READ by OTHER PEOPLE!!). As soon as I sent my book to beta readers, I got the opportunity to start an internship with a publishing company (something I am super stoked about!) and something I can have time to do now that my book is where it’s at. When July ended and the summer job I had slowed to a stop, I got hired at another job I applied for–exactly the kind of job I was looking for–to have during the school-year. All of that, and so much more, and I have my Creator to thank.

God’s timing is flawless; beyond my control and for that I am thankful. No matter where the future takes me and what paths I stumble down and the difficulties and disappointments I encounter, I can always choose to look back and be grateful. Because even when we do not see the reason, God does, and that’s where my faith lies: in the hands of my Maker.

Dear reader, perhaps when you look in the rear view mirror of your life, everything seems foggy, dirty, and difficult to understand. Maybe it’s a challenge to see how the Lord has worked in your life, or what He’s planning to do with all the events that have led up to where you are now. My encouragement to you today is this: on the good days and the bad, when it’s easy and when it’s not, find joy in the chaos—the things to be grateful for even when it feels like everything around you is falling apart, and there isn’t anything left to be grateful for. God created you for a purpose and a reason and isn’t finished with you. Whether He reveals His reasons or not, His plan is always divine. And we can rest in that: the God of the universe, who spoke everything into being, holds and values your life.

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NASB

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Let’s talk! How have you seen the Lord working in your life? What’s some of the highlights from your summer?

SHINE ON, 

BROOKLYN 

Who do we compete for?

At the beginning of every track meet, the same 5 word question is asked every time, followed by the same 3 word response. One from the team prays and immediately after someone is asked to break us out, screaming “who do we compete for?” into the sky, usually consisting of a voice crack and many laughs, as a loud “for the Lord!” is shouted back in response, setting the tone for the meet ahead. 

Up until recently, I hadn’t really thought deeply about what I was saying in response to such a question, and how much power those three words held. It’s easy to make something a force of habit or fall into the inclination of a constant pattern. Performance before motivation; expression before realization. 

There’s several verses that come to mind when thinking of when we’re told in scripture to be a light for Christ and doing everything for the glory of Him. As I looked up Bible verses–specifically ones related to this topic–I found an even larger abundance of verses then I thought I would. I wasn’t as surprised as I was encouraged. 

“Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” 

Matthew 5:16

Over and over again we’re told to be a light for others. That’s the reason I say “shine on” at the end of each of my posts, because I do hope and pray we all continue to be that beacon for Christ, and continue shining on through all the trials we encounter and even the days we feel like everything is going perfect. To truly know God and to make Him known.

It can seem impossible or crazy to glorify God in everything you do. There are so many moments throughout my day I feel like I’m doing virtually nothing, or at least nothing important enough that could possibly bring glory to God. Glory seems like such a big concept that we presuppose as something too elusive; too unachievable–yet even Webster’s Dictionary describes it as worshipful praise, honor and thanksgiving. I forget that glorifying God isn’t always in your actions, but also with your thoughts—and your thoughts provoke your actions. Another topic I’ll have to save for a later time 😉 

Glorifying God starts with a mindset, and I don’t think many people realize that.

“To love God with our minds is to hold Him in high esteem, to think about Him with reverence and with adoration. The more we love God with our minds, the more we’ll be driven to do that other thing that is alien to us in our fallen condition, namely, to worship Him.”

R. C. Sproul

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but at church on Sunday my pastor said this: “the body follows where the mind leads.” Chewing on this idea more made me realize how true it is. I experience this first hand all the time, the most apparent way being my Christian life. The more I stay in the Word and go to church and am involved in youth groups and Bible studies, the more I feel like my life, even aside from those things, is reflecting God. Because if your heart is not in the right place, then how can we possibly shine for Christ? The light of Christ might not be visibly seen, but it’s that which is unseen that usually has the largest impact.

Glorifying God can be done in every thought we make. Every action, every word spoken, and even every mindset we choose to have before a track meet. When you set godly intentions and react to situations in a manner worthy of the Gospel, that’s when you’re living (competing!) for the Lord. 

Thus, the question remains.

Who do you compete for?

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Let’s talk! How was your week? Do you always say something special before competing in something?

SHINE ON, 

BROOKLYN